Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
EWJ vs VUG: how they differ
EWJ and VUG hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and EWJ returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI Japan ETF and Vanguard Growth Index Fund.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, EWJ and VUG hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in EWJ | Only in VUG |
|---|---|
| Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. 4.08% | NVIDIA Corp 12.63% |
| TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION 3.45% | Apple Inc 11.67% |
| SoftBank Group Corp. 3.37% | Microsoft Corp 7.62% |
| Tokyo Electron Limited 2.90% | Alphabet Inc 5.76% |
| Hitachi, Ltd. 2.86% | Alphabet Inc 4.54% |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. 2.58% | Amazon.com Inc 4.47% |
| Sony Group Corporation 2.56% | Broadcom Inc 4.29% |
| ADVANTEST CORPORATION 2.41% | Meta Platforms Inc 3.41% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and May 31, 2026.
| EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF | VUG Vanguard Growth Index Fund | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | Vanguard |
| What it is | MSCI Japan | US growth |
| Total return, 1 year | +26.5% | +12.9% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | +9.0 pts | −4.6 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.03% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 0.0% | 97.4% |
| Holdings | 179 | 147 |
EWJ in plain words
EWJ is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI Japan. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +26.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 179 positions, with the top ten at 28.4%.
VUG in plain words
VUG is an index equity fund tracking the US growth. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +12.9% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 147 positions, with the top ten at 60.5%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, EWJ or VUG?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +26.5% and VUG returned +12.9%, so EWJ returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, EWJ or VUG?
- EWJ charges 0.49% a year and VUG charges 0.03%, so VUG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do EWJ and VUG overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EWJ and 97% of VUG by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 0% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
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Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, EWJ against VUG, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/EWJ-VUG Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources